Same-sex couple plastic figurines are displayed during a gay wedding fair in Paris in this April 27, 2013, file photo.

A
wedding videographer in Ohio could face legal action after she declined
to shoot a lesbian couples' wedding ceremony because it would have
conflicted with her biblical understanding that marriage should only be
between one man and one woman.
When Jenn Moffitt and her partner
Jerra Kincely were searching in February for a videographer to film
their wedding, they sent an email inquiry to a local video production
company called Next Door Stories in Bexley, Ohio, a town in the Columbus
suburbs.CNN reports that
the couple got an email back from the company's owner, Courtney
Schmackers, on Feb. 4 politely informing them that she doesn't offer her
services for same-sex weddings."Hello,
Thank you for reaching out about wedding videography. How did you hear
about Next Door Stories?" Schmackers' email asked. "Unfortunately at
this time I do not offer services for same-sex weddings, but thank you
for your inquiry!"
In an interview with CNN that was published Monday, Moffitt said that she was stunned by Schmackers' response to her request.

"I
couldn't believe it," Moffitt explained. "It is a small business, and I
thought this was a tight-knit community. We wanted to support local
commerce and to get that kind of response was astounding."Moffitt
and Kincely have filed a complaint against Next Door Stories with the
Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce. The couple has also taken to Facebook
to explain the conflict, which has stirred outrage among gay rights
advocates, which has shined a negative light on Schmackers' business.
Although Schmackers' refused to provide a comment to CNN on why she refused to provide her services to the lesbian couple, The Daily Mail reports that Schmackers took to Facebook to explain her decision."I
made a business decision based on my spiritual beliefs and the biblical
definition of marriage because I thought that I had a right to that,"
Schmackers wrote. "Unfortunately, I gave the wrong answer to the wrong
person, who decided to make a private issue into a public platform and
now I am fully experiencing the consequences. I am sorry you had to be
exposed to it, and I'm open to any and all conversation regarding it."
Although
the couple filed the complaint, Ohio is one of 13 states that does not
allow same-sex marriages, and Bexley is also a municipality that does
not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Additionally,
the Bexley Chamber of Commerce does not prohibit its members from
discriminating based on sexual orientation.

The Bexley Chamber of Commerce issued a statement through
Facebook on Monday condemning Schmackers' refusal of service. The post
continued by stating that board members have decided that the chamber's
policy must be changed so that this type of "discrimination" does not
happen again."At
our Feb. 11 board meeting, we discussed in detail how the Bexley Area
Chamber of Commerce could ensure this does not happen again. The Chamber
Board believes that discrimination in any form is wrong and should not
be tolerated. At this meeting, the board agreed that our membership
policy must be revised to reflect this. We began the process of
re-writing [sic] our policies and guidelines."

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